Player-piano mechanism



19 0 l 625 253 Apr 19 27 s. R. HARcouRT PLAYER FIANO MECHANISN Filedvnowl. 1922 2 Sheng-snm 1 EL? E9 2)@ IT# E En? DI! v April 19,1927. s R HARCOURT y 1,625,253

PLAYER PIANO MECHANISM Filed Nov.1. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 am Rmmwl am,

Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT vorifice. I

STILLWELL R. HARCOURT, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; MARTHA D. HARCOURT ADMINIS- TRATRIX OF SAID STILLWELL R. HARCOURT, DECEASED.

PLAYER-PIANO yMnon-Aivrsivi.

Application filed November 1, 1922.

The present invention relates to tempo :ontrol mechanism for player pianos, and nnbodies improvements upon the construction of control mechanism forming the subject matt-er of my prior Patent #1,316,573 issued' Sept. 3, 1919.

In standard player piano practice, a so called ""take-up7 roll is provided for draw'- ing the sheet of music down across the tracker bar in playing the selection, after which the sheet of music is re-wound on its original carrying spool. A pneumatic motor is provided to operate either the spool or the rolll, in re-Winding or playing, re'- spectively, and the present inventionis concerned with the control of this pneumatic motor. -More specifically, the invention is co-ncerned with the control of the motor during the playing operation, that is, While the motor pov-:er is being applied to the take-upr roll. l

The feeder bellows constituting the source of suction, arek usually provided with a res ervoir. which has as its purpose to maintain a steady andl continual' suction on the devices operated from the feeder bellows. An air line connects this reservoir with the motor, and it is alsocustomary to interpose a governor in this air line between the reservoir and the pneumatic motor for maintaining a constant rate of rotation of they pneu-` matic motor, determined by a` preliminary adjustment of the governor.

The present form of control means is particularly designed for temporarily retarding or accelerating a: phrase in thel music being played, entirely7 independently of the above `governor control, so that it is possible to: quicken the pace of the music for a moment,

or to retard it, in order t0 get the most artistic effect, Without interfering with the rate at which the piece of music as a whole' is set to be played. The mechanism of my prior patent performsgthe control function of accelerating the speed of the pneumatic motor by temporarily shunting the governorabove referred to; and performs the control 'functionof retarding the speedof the pneumatic motor by throtthng the suction conA- nection leading thereto.-

The improved mechanism forming' the subject matter ofthe present application performs the control function of'acoeleratF ing the speed of the pneumatic motor in the same manner; but performs the control Serial No. 598,262.

function of retarding the speed of the pneumatic motor by venting atmospheric air intor the suction line leading to the pneumatic motor, instead of throttling this suction line as in my prior construction. I have found that this latter mode of control gives a. nicer precision and mode of operation, for the reason that it does at no time interfere With the predetermined air as set by tempo and controlled by governor. A further advantage of this mode of control liesv in the fact that it does not noticeably affect the pumping action, because substantially the same amount ofair is vented into the system, the control valve merely venting the air into the system at an anteriorv point, instead of hav.- ing it pass through the motor. It also requi'r'es only one valve-box compartment and one valve rodi entering this compartment, and isotherwise advantageousk over my prior construction.

@'tliei" features` concerned with the construction of valve-box for performing this control* function, will be set forth in the following detailed description of the invention. A preferred embodiment thereof, is illustra-ted in the accompanying drawing inf which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view' of a player pianogembodying the features of my invention, part of the casing being removed in order' to reveal the interior construction;

Fig;` 2y is a front elevational view of the valve-box of my invention.

Fig. 3 is an elevational' view of the same with the front cover removed therefrom.

Fig.` 4 is ai vertical sectional view talrcn on' the transverse center line of the valveboit.

Fig. 5 is a` fragmentary sectional view of the, control buttons and actuatingr levers for operating the valve elements in said valve-box, and;

Fig; (ii is a, vertical sectional view of the tempo control valve, taken on the line 6F@ of Fig.' 1.

Referring' first to Figure l, it wili be secu that there is illustrated a piano casing (i, the keyboard being shown as?. Properly mounted in thelotv'er part ofthe casing is a' sipportingFboard- 8, which carries the' pamper bellows 9 and" 150,r operated by' the pedalsv 111@ and the conne'ctedreservoirs' lll and 1Q respectively'. "t 13 The pass-'agev a), connect/s tha' bellows 9I and? the` reservoir 11',

llt)

and a passageway 14 connects the bellows and the reservoir 12. Each ot' the reservoirs is provided with a spring to keep it normally distended, and it will now be understood that the suction impulses from the respective bellows cause a steady suction to be maintained by the reservoirs.

The action, with the details ot which I am not concern-cd, is illust-rated broadly at 16, and it will be seen that the reservoir 11 is connected with the wind-chest of the action by means of the air line 1T.

A governor 13 is provided adjacent the reservoir 12, and a passageway 19 connects the interior ot the governor with the reservoir. No detail description of this governor is necessary because it is an old and well-known element in the art. It is sutticient to say that upon its interior the movable board of the governor, which is constructed like a bellows, is provided with a valve 20, which more or less restricts the port 21 ot the passageway 1.9, so that the greater the suction the greater will be the tendency to close the port, thus compensate ing, in a complementary way, for increased suction in the reservoir 12. It will thus be seen that, with the inlet to the governor ot a determined size, the suction controlled by the governor will remain substantially constant.

A spring 22 tends to keep the governor distended.

In the upper part of the piano casing, a rail 23 is mounted, and a roller-box 24 is set upon this rail, thisroller box having mounted therein the music roll 25, the music spool 26 and the tracker 27, set in such position therebetween that the paper passing from the spool to the roll may slide over the tacker. A pneumatic motor 2S is also mounted upon the rail 23, and, by means ot transmission mechanism 29, the power ot' the shaft 30 ot the motor is conveyed to either the spool 26 or the roll 25.

Since this invention is not concerned with the rewinding of the music sheet, I shall assume, for the purposes of this description, that the transmission mechanism is in such condition that the power ot the motor is applied to the roll 25. That is the playing condition.

A suction tube 31 leads from the motor 28 and goes to a valve box 32, mounted upon the rail 23. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, this valve box has a single compartment This compartment is connected with the governor 13 by means of an air line 36, in which a valve 37 is preferably interposed. As shown in Fig. 6, the valve 37 is capable of various degrees of opening or closing, and is adapted to remain in any set position, being manually controlled by means of a forwardly extending valve stem 50. A direct air line 38 leads from the reservoir 12 directly up to the valve box 32. By directly I mean to convey the idea that the air line 3S is a path of lower resistance than the air line 36, which includes the governor.

Referring now to the details of construction ot this valve box 32, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be observed that the valve box is ot inexiensive wood construction, ot rectangular l'orm, and has a removable front cover 34. Entering the two side walls of the box 32 are two short sections ot metallic conduit or tubing 39 and 40. rIhe conduit 39 receives the end ot the suction tube 31, and the conduit 40 receives the end of the suction tube 36 extending up from the governor 18. Both of these conduits have direct and open communication with the valve compartment 33 at all times, there being no valve controlling the communication ot these conduits with the compartment 33. The direct air line 38 leading from the reservoir 12, has connection over the end of a section of tubular conduit 41 which is rigidly mounted in the rear wall of the valve box The communication between this conduit 41 and the compartment 33 is controlled by a vertically moving valve 42 which slides up and down along the rear wall of the valve box 32, and is adapted to cover and uncover the opening of the conduit 41. The valve block 42 is guided laterally and is held to the tace of the rear wall by a pair ot rcsilient wires 43 which are anchored in the bottom oit the valve box and which bear in verticalgrooves 44 in the outer face ot' the valve block. The upper edge of the valve block 42 is provided with a long notch 45, forming a tapering valve port for obtaining a gradual opening ot the end oit the conduit. 41. A screw 46 is mounted in the back wall of the valve box in position to be engaged by the bottom oit the notch when the inner end ot the conduit 41 is com pletely covered, this screw acting as a. limiting stop for the upward closing motion ot the yalve block 42.

The valve is actuated by a rod 4T which extends downwardly through the bottom ot the valve box 32. The upper end ot' this rod 4T is bent .laterally to engage in the valve block 42, and this end held in the f'alve block by a pair of screws 48 which screw int-o the block on opposite sides ot the rod 47 and have their heads overlying and contining the rod 47. This rod has a snug sliding lit in the bore in the bottom of the valve box 32, so as to minimize air leakage, and the lower end of the rod is threaded at 49 for adjustable connection with an actuating lever which I shall hereinafter describe. n

It will be observed that when the valve lll) loo

block 4,2 is in its uppermost position, the conduit l1 is completely blocked, and consequently the compartment 33 is only subjected to the suction transnjiitted 'from the governore18 up through the suction line This means that the regulated suction troni the governor 18 is edective at the pneumatic motor 28. Then the valve block 42 is completely down, a relatively higher' suction is ei'jlective in the compartment 33 through the direct communication between the conduit ll1 and the reservoir 12. This higher suction is etective to run the pneumatic motor 28 at a higher rate ot'speed than that resulting from the regulated suction transmitted from the regulator V18. A nice graduation of this pneumatic motor speed can loe` obtained by the proper positioning of the notch-like port l5 lor restricting the port opening of the conduit -l-,1 to agreater or less degree.l

For retarding the speed of the pneumatic motor 28 below that resulting trom the stipply of the regulated suction from the regulator 18 thereto, I propose venting atmosphere into the Valve box compartment 33 by the motion of a reciprocatory valve 5l mounted on the` front of the removable cover 3l. The vvalve block 51 is guided between two vertical guides 52 on the cover 34, these guides being formed with, Hanges overlying the back ofthe valve block 51 for confining the latter against the tace of the cover 34. The block 51 controls a port 53, ot inverted 'l' Yformation, extending through the removable cover 34C and coi'nmunicating with atmosphere on one side and the walve box compartment 33 on the other side. The vertical stemv portion of the T is comparatively narrow, so that when this portion is exposed, the athnission of atn'iosphere will be more er less restricted, depending upon the length exposed. The cross bar portion of the T is relatively wide and deep, so as to afford a large atmospheric inlet when the valve block 51 is in `its lower position. The upward motion oli the valve block 51 is limited by a small block of t'elt 541-, which is glued to the removable cover 3e between the upper end of the guides 52. The valve block is actuated by a rod 55, passing through a bridge member 56 oi felt which is glued across the bottom ot' the guide member 52. The upper end of the actuating rod 55 is threaded for screwing into a compressed block of felt or other material 7, which is glued to the haelt of the valve block 51. Strips of 'felt 58 are glued along each inargin ot' the valveblock 51 to engage with the overlying flanges of the guide members 52, Vtor the purpose of maintaining a firm sliding lit, and to minimize leakage. The lower end of the actuating rod 55 is threaded at 59, similarly to the actuating rod 47, for connection with its actuating lever.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, each of the valve actuating rods 47 and 55 is connected with a swinging lever 61, pivoted at 62 in back of 4the key-board. The threaded 'ends L9 and 59 permit adjustment of the valves ll2 and 51 relative to the swinging levers 61. The other end of each ot' the levers is provided with an actuating button, which is exposed through the key-slip. The button 611, which operates the valve block 51, may have any suitable mounting, but the button 63, which controls the niovenient of the valve block 42, has a special mounting illustrated in 5,. The button 63 is pivotally mounted upon its lever 61, at 65, and the opening66 in the key-slip, through which the button extends, is of such size as to permit a slight lateral play ot the button. The lower end of a spring 67 may be secured at 68 to` the opposite end ot the lever 61, whereby the lever 61 and button 63` are normally held in the raised position as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The button itself is provided with a notch 71 which is adapted to cooperate with a catch 72, secured to the lopA of the key-slip and soy disposed that when the button 63 is depressed and moved slightly to the right, the notch will engage with the catch to hold Athe button 63 in its lowerinost position against the tension oi the spring 67 and to loch it in that position, so that the valve 4t2 may be kept open without further attention if desired.

The operationv or' my device will now be clear. A certain tempo being ascribed to a piece of music to be played, the valve 37 is primarily adjusted to correspond to the required. rate. This rate, as before explained,

maintained by the operation of the governor 18, since, under normal. conditions, the suction is applied to the motor exclusively through the intervention ot the governor, the valve l2 heilig completely closed, and the valve 51- alsofbeing closed. It it is desired to temporarily retard the tempo, the button (il is correspondingly depressed, whereupon the valve 51 is opened to a greater. or less degree and atmospheric pressure is admitted to the compartment 33. This atmospheric pressure reducesthe suction effective at the pneumatic motor` and it suieient atmosphere is vented into the compartment the pneumatic motor may be stopped it' desired. However, immediately upon the release oli the button 64, the tempo immediately returns tothe rate as determined by the valve 37, e i

Whein on the other hand, it is desired to. accelerate momentarily, the button 63 is depressed. and the valve 42 is opened, thus temporarily transmitting the ungoverned suction of the reservoir to the motor. Here, again, immediately upon the release of the button 63, the spring 67 closing the valve 42, causes the motor to return to its preliminarily-determined speed. l If, as before sin described, the button G8 is depressed and then moved slightly to its right, the valve may be locked in its open position so that it will remain open without further attention ou the part of the operator. This throws the governor entirely out of use until the button is again released, and during such period it will be seen that the operator may govern the tempo by his own pumping, as frequently the case when the operator may, at the same time, be playing some other instrument.

l claim as new and desire to secure by Let- Scrs Patent of the United States:

l. in an automatic music instrument, the combination ot' note sheet means, a pneumatic motor tor moving said note sheet means, a source ot' suction, a suction conduit connecting said source and said motor tor transmitting` the suction from said source to said motor, and means for venting atmosphere directly into the suction connection between the source and motor to decrease the ei'iectiveness upon the motor of a given suction trom said source without throttling the suction source or changing the suction therefrom.

in a player piano, the combination of note sheet means, a pneumatic motor for moving said note sheet means, a source of suction, a suction conduit connecting said source and said motor for transmitting the ;-.uction from said source to said motor, .neans for venting' atmosphere directly into he suction connection between the source and motor to decrease the eiectiveness upon the motor ot a given suction from said source without throttling the suction source or changing the suction therefrom, and control means disposed adjacent the keyboard of the piano for controlling said venting means.

3. ln a player piano mechanism, the com- 1uiuation ot a pneumatic motor, a source ot suction, conduit means connecting said source and motor for transmitting suction from said source to the motor, and valve mechanism interposed in said conduit means, .said valve mechanism being operative to transmit high and low suctions to said pneumatic motor and to vent atmosphere into the suction connection between the source and motor to retard the driving eifectiveness of a given suction upon the motor and thereby the speed of the motor without throttling the source or changing the suction therefrom.

-l-. l'n a player piano mechanism, the combination ot a pneumatic motor, a source of suction, a suction conduit connecting said source and said motor for transmitting the suction trom said source to the said motor, means in said conduit for regulating the suction transmitted, and means for venting atmosphere directly into said suction conduit to decrease the eifectiveness of a given suction trom said source upon the motor without changing the suction as regulated by said regulating means.

5. In player piano mechanism, the combination ott a pneumatic motor, a source of suction, a low suction conduit, a high suction conduit, one ot said conduits having valved control means for regulating the suction transmitted to the pneumatic motor, and means for venting atmosphere directly into the low suction conduit connection between the source and motor for retarding the speed ot the motor.

6. In player piano mechanism, the conihination of an action, note sheet mechanism for said action, a pneumatic motor for operating said note sheet mechanism, a suction system supplying suction to said pneumatic motor and comprising a source of suction, a suction reservoir, an air line connecting said pneumatic motor with said reservoir, a valve chest interposed in said air line, the air line between the valve chest and the reservoir being divided into two independent branches, one ot said branches having free and open connection with the reservoir, a governor interposed in the other branch, a valve in said valve chest controlling the connection oi said branches with said pneumatic motor, and means ior venting atmospheric pressure into the air line to the motor through said valve chest to retard the motor without throttling the suction from the source.

7. in piano player mechanism, an action, note sheet mechanism 'for said action, a pneumatic motor tor operating said note sheet mechanism, a suction reservoir, an air line connecting said pneumatic motor and said reservoir, a governor in said air line, a second air line connecting said motor directly with said reservoir, a manually operated valve in said second air line, and a manually operated valve for admitting atmosphere directly into one of said air lines to control the eiiectiveness upon the motor of a given suction in said line.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27th day of October, 1922.

STILLVELL R. HARCOURT. 

